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Prgnrhguon
There's no one best routine, but I can offer advice as to what has made me maximally productive and outline the routine I've settled on. I wrote an article titled: How to Become an Early Riser: The 12 Techniques I Used to Go from a Night Owl to Waking up at 4 AM Daily, in which I detailed the techniques I used to create the habit of waking up at, you guessed it, 4 AM on a daily basis. This is a cornerstone of my daily routine. I'm more productive in the morning vs. any other time of day. By the way while most days I wake up at 4 AM I don't hold myself strictly to 4 AM. Sometimes I wake up at 4:30 AM or 5 and occasionally I sleep in if I feel really exhausted. It's not healthy to push yourself up if you haven't had enough sleep. Some days you might go to bed late and it's more important to get ample sleep so you're at your best for the entirety of the day. So, I wake up at 4. I then: #'Water trick' - Immediately upon waking up I usually go into the restroom and splash water over my head and on my face. The reason I do this is because it immediately wakes me up. It's really, really effective. #'Meditate' (30-45 mins) - I also do this because the first activity I do upon waking is to meditate. This is the most ideal thing to do first thing in the morning in my opinion. It really sets you up for the rest of the day. I meditate for reasons much more important to me than increasing my productivity, but this is also an effect of doing so. Right now I prefer 45 minutes, but once I can get to the point of blogging/running my own company full time I'd like to increase that. As it stands I need to get to work (GM at the family business) at 8 AM. #'Write' (2-3 hrs) - I take my time getting up once I'm done meditating to really relish the feeling of peace and quiet. But once I'm up, I immediately go to the computer and begin writing. Occasionally I'll replace this with updating something on my website since I do everything myself right now. But for the most part on the majority of days I write for the entire time. I do not check email yet, social networks, my rss feed, or any other websites I follow. I wait to check these things after I'm done writing around 7-7:30. I'm currently alternating between writing my next (weekly) blog post and my first book which will be completed this month. #'Work' (7:30-4:30) - At this point I get ready for work, and if my kids get up before I leave which happens on most days, I get them started for their day (my oldest is almost 3 and his brother is 7 months). I then head to the office and only get time to work on my blog during breaks (and I squeeze in time if I finish early). But at work, being the GM, things that I've done to increase my own productivity while at work have been to delegate tasks to others, only check my email once an hour or two and to cut down time on menial tasks like packing, processing and charging credit cards. Throughout the day I may have ideas for articles, a book idea, an upgrade to my blog or something else. When I do I pop open my Evernote (my favorite program for housing all of my ideas), which I keep open on my desktop at work, and quickly write the idea down. #'Dinner and Time with Family' (4:30- 7:30/8 PM) - This time is reserved for my family. Occasionally when sitting at the kitchen table I'll pop open my iPad (which I use with a Bluetooth keyboard to write- which I LOVE) and write a bit, maybe read an article or two or something. For the most part though, electronic devices are off and I am 100% fully in the moment of enjoying my meal and then enjoying time with my sons. Bedtime is around 8 PM. It takes a while on some days for both of my sons to fall asleep, and sometimes my youngest wakes up multiple times throughout the night. This can be really difficult, but we just make it work. It's temporary and I keep my focus on long term vision which helps me push forward everyday. A few notes: *'Driving' - When I'm driving, I'm often listening to audio books. I often consider this my "dharma talk" time, since my spiritual practice is so important to me (and what I write about as well, so it gives me ideas) and I'm not an actual monk living in a monastery listening to dharma talks each day so it's important for me to get that daily dose somehow. I read around 3 books a month like this. I often re-read books 2-3 times to fully absorb the information. Sometimes I just practice mindfulness while driving, I call it driving meditation. This is a very rewarding practice. *'Restroom' - Honestly if I'm sitting in the restroom I pop my phone out and do something productive (no, not that...) like read an article or look over my book progress. Either that or I pull out this little pocket book I keep on me which I call "The Book of Mindfulness". It has little phrases which are meant to send the person into a state of mindfulness. In this case I'd be practicing following my breath. *'Putting my baby son to sleep' - If I'm walking him around putting him to sleep at night then I practice walking meditation. In fact I try to remember to practice walking meditation anytime I'm walking. Doesn't happen, but it helps to stay conscious of it (the physical presence of the book in my pocket helps me remember to do this). The reason I do things like this is because I'm constantly conscious of the fact that while a monk has all 24 hours in a day to devote to their practice, I have mostly just moments strewn throughout my day (aside for the morning). At least for now, I'm excited to eventually be able to blog full time and control my schedule better. Also, as my kids get older, particularly once my 7 month old gets to be 1 1/2-2 years old, things will become even easier. *'Weekends' - I tend to get more time here. I'm home when my boys take their nap, I don't have to go to work and occasionally my wife drives in which case I pop out my trusty iPad/keyboard combo and get to work. I don't always do this though, if we're going to do something fun I keep it bagged and put my complete attention on enjoying the experience with my family. I used to do a bunch of things in the morning. I really tried to pack it in. This wasn't a good idea as I'd just end up distracting myself and getting less done. By revisiting my priorities and realizing what was most important (meditating and writing) I've greatly improved both my meditation practice and my writing ability, quality and quantity written. Two weeks ago it hit me that I wrote some 6000-7000 words in that one week despite having work, two kids, my wife and other responsibilities to attend to each day. I originally got the idea of waking up at 4 AM (and immediately meditating) from an article I read (which I mention in the blog post I linked above) that mentioned the sleep schedules of Buddhist monks. I was putting my kids to sleep at night, getting up as soon as they were asleep, and getting to work until 2-3 AM since I was always a night owl (I had the hardest time waking up early a few years ago). I saw the article as an opportunity to get more time and better quality time as well. I also recently watched an interview Oprah did on her "Super Soul Sunday" program with Deepak Chopra. Apparently he does the same. That is, wakes up at 4 AM and meditates. He meditates for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the late afternoon/evening. -- My husband is so productive & has such full, rich days that I will describe some of his habits. He combines several components at once often so I guess you could say he is a good multi-tasker. Every morning before work he is up at 5:00, has a cup of coffee in bed, in the dark, while he lets his mind wander. He doesn't read or force it onto any subject or look at his schedue on his phone; he does that the night before. He lets his mind lightly touch on any subject it wants to or if it starts to think deep thoughts--deep thoughts it is. He does not exert control over it. He has a very set ROUTINE. After this time of flight of mind, he has a yogurt; takes a cup of coffee w/him; dressed in his tennis clothes; carrying his work clothes & drives to the tennis club that is on the way to work & plays hard tennis matches every morning of the week. His tennis is vigorous & requires full concentration so his mind is not thinking of the work day ahead or any other topics that might be worrisome. The physical exercise is strenuous (plays singles) & the level of play requires quick reflexes & a fixed focus. Therefore, he is getting his daily dose of cardio & "mindfulness." His routine is the same at the tennis club, too. He is a very good player & lots of the men there vie to against him so if it is Jerry he's playing it must be Monday. Tuesday is Bill. Wednesday is Mark, etc. If one of his rivals is not available to play, he puts in one of his alternates or just works out at the gym. After the tennis workout he will shower, shave, etc. & dress for the day. When we built our current house, he hadn't "christened" the shower for months as he was always preparing for the day at the tennis club. One fellow told him, "We put in running water when we built our house!" Saturday & Sunday he sleeps in for an hour & plays at 6:00 a.m. & then goes out to breakfast w/a couple of his friends & often they have compelling conversations as one is a physician, a psychologist, golf pro, stock broker... They will enchange books to read & these friendships have been long-lasting (most over 20 years). When a water pipe bursts in the middle of the night, he has many close friends to calll upon to help. I think the question holds half the answer: DAILY ROUTINE. Each person must determine which routines are important for him/her to imprint so they are HABITS that do not require planning or much thinking about--like the absent-minded state you are in when you drive to work every morning (for example). The coffee, yogurt, tennis clothes, work clothes, shaving kit, etc. are all automatic to my husband. When he does have to shower & shave at home, he is always searching for something or missing a step as this is not his ROUTINE or HABIT & he has to THINK! I have found the book by Charles Duhigg ("The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life & Business") an excellent resource to learn how to form new habits that enhance my life & lessen the detrimental effects of the already engrained ones that are not healthy or productive. Just observing my husband's fantastic modeling is a seminar in itself in improving my habits! As an aside, I have a terrible time getting distracted from a task I am trying to finish. I often set the timer on my phone to go off in 30 minutes so I can stop & ask myself, "Am I doing the job or task I planned to do at this time or have I veered off to reading every link in the N.Y. Times or all the answers onquora.com? Am I making the best use of my time right now?" By checking in w/myself every 30 minutes or so (especially when I am at home alone), I can reassess what I am doing & put into practice any routines or habits I am trying to instill.